An interesting point concerning the fallout of this weekend's terrorist act by domestic christofascist terrorists, who shot a doctor on his way into church:
Since Dr. Tiller performed late-term abortions, the terrorists and their media enablers have taken to implying, and, in many cases outright lying about, the "invalid" reasons behind those abortions. Those of us who are not pro-coat-hanger, often respond with heart-wrenching stories about women who wanted a child and found out late in their pregnancy that they were carrying a fetus so severely damaged that it would not be viable after birth. We report how sad the abortion made the woman (and her partner) and believe that we've countered the terrorists' lies.
The danger here is to allow the terrorists to set the terms of the debate. Abortion must be a woman's choice, regardless of her reasons. We can't allow the question to become whether or not the woman had a "good enough" reason for the abortion. And women needn't "pay" for their right to an abortion by being sad about it. For many women, abortion brings a sense of relief, control over their own lives, resolution.
It's also been fascinating to watch the pro-coat-hanger crowd scream that nobody better try to use this recent act of terrorism to "score political points" against them. Dudes. People who waive around gigantic signs of bloody fetuses outside abortion clinics and screech at the women entering them don't get to tell the rest of us about using things to score political points.
Image found here.
6 comments:
Yeah, too bad about he political points thing/ There have been at least 6 such murders in the last decade, their movement constantly compares people who believe in choice to Nazis, child murderers, they liken us to slave holders, etc. This is what has now been sowed.
If you go to you tube and look up Dr. Tiller, you will see the unapologetic gloating over his murder. Hundreds of comments have been left rejoicing in it. It's quite disgusting, really.
A commentator in Digby's "Hullabaloo" referred to anti-choicers as "coathanger conservatives." Rather appropriate, IMO.
I'm thinking it's time to reclaim the phrase "pro-abortion." Any time, any place, whenever any woman wants it for any reason. Boom. No judging, no questions, nothing. Do we trust women or don't we?
I am pro-abortion.
Maybe we should ask these pundits if they would like to adopt these "children".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anencephaly
In case you haven't seen it, I include the link here for Starhawk's column. Her latest editorial is about Tiller's muder:
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/starhawk
Maybe it's time to emulate some of the coathanger conservatives' tactics. I suggest memorials to the victims of anti-abortion terrorists, posted a la Freeway blogger. Also, when local churches adorn their lots with "crosses for fetuses" we drape each one with a coathanger.
Their power is in their voice. We can and should subvert that voice.
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